STORY: From the Fed abandoning its interest rate cut bet to the IMF and World Bank spring meetings, here are the business and financial stories to watch over the coming week.
1/ Abandoning interest rate cut bets
The market hastily dumped bets on the Fed's mid-year rate cut.
With strong inflation underlying the strong economy, September is now seen as the likely date for the start of easing.
This will put more focus on U.S. consumers ahead of retail sales data to be released on April 15th.
Financial results reported by Bank of America, American Express, Discover Financial Services and others may also have implications for consumer spending.
2/ Are you on track?
Investors will get their first look at how the world's second-largest growing economy is shaping up in a data-packed week from China.
First-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) statistics are scheduled to be released on Tuesday, along with housing prices and retail sales statistics.
The economy is expected to grow at an annual rate of 4.6%, making it a difficult start for the Chinese government to reach its 2024 growth target of around 5%.
3/ Indian vote
India, the world's largest democracy by population, will begin voting in national elections on April 19.
The competition will be held in seven stages, and the results will be announced on June 4th.
Incumbent Prime Minister Narendra Modi is aiming for an unprecedented third consecutive term and is expected to win easily.
Ever since Prime Minister Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance won key state elections in December, markets have rallied on expectations for policy continuity at the national level.
4/ IMF/World Bank Conference
Finance ministers and central bank governors from around the world will gather in Washington, D.C., on Monday to participate in the annual Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank.
Policymakers from the G20 and G7 will also gather, while a number of reports on the economic outlook and financial stability will be released.
There is no shortage of interesting topics.